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"We've entered the only five- to six-week period of the year when all is
pretty much quiet on the NFL front. That means this page isn't nearly as active
as usual, especially since we're catching our breath for the first time just
like the players and coaches.

But a few years ago, we came up with a way to keep the blog active and
keep the conversation going for you folks as well. The solution was the Giants
summer questionnaire, which we're reviving this year after skipping in 2011
because of the lockout.

Over the next month-plus, stay with us for short Q&As with players
from all ranks of the depth chart, from Eli Manning down to those merely hoping
to grab that 53rd roster spot or perhaps a job on the practice squad.

But before we get to the players, we begin with the Grand Poobah, coach
Tom Coughlin, who vows he'll finally relax a little bit over the coming weeks
but will be as eager to return this year as always. In other words, continue to
save your retirement questions:

Given the way you’re wired, can you allow yourself to relax at all
during this quiet period after going full bore the rest of the
year?

Yeah, I mean, I can. I’m looking forward to some down time. We have a family
vacation coming up. I’m looking forward to that, to spending some time with my
family, my loved ones. It’s been, you’d have to admit, from mid-February on,
kind of busy. So I’m looking forward to that.

Do you ever think, ‘Boy, that was nice to relax like that. I wish it
could be like that all the time?' Or are you still always eager to get back to
work?

(Laughs) I might for a couple of weeks. And then, I start wondering. ... It’s
funny because I tell this story. This is when the kids were real young. I’d be
around in the summer and they would know it’s time to start camp and they’d all
be lined up like, ‘Gee, it’s too bad you’ve got to go, Dad. Here’s your hat. Can
you get to camp so we can get back to having fun?’

Last time you won a Super Bowl, there was no ‘hangover’ and you
opened the following season playing very well. What did you take from that to
implement this time around as well?

Well, it’s the same kind of thing we talked to the players about. We had
listened to that complacency stuff all winter. I thought we applied ourselves
very well to coming back to camp and getting focused again, and we started out
very well. I’m hoping we can do the same thing. We really haven’t focused in on
any of that kind of stuff this year because I don’t think this team is like
that. But the idea would be we have started strong a lot of years (and) we have
a little bump in the road along the way. But certainly we would like to start
strong, stay strong and eliminate that part of it."http://www.nj.com/giants/

"All good things must come to an end, though I’m not sure that “good things”
is an apt way to describe what seemed like both the shortest and longest
offseason in recent memory. As defending Super Bowl champions, the Giants had to
pack a lot into a comparatively little time between Super Bowl XLVI and the end
of their minicamp last week.

Before I depart for my much-needed vacation, though, I’ll leave
you a few thoughts on the offseason and the recently completed minicamp (though
I caution you to keep in mind it’s impossible to tell much from three days of
non-contact, no-pads practices). Training camp opens on July 26 at the
University at Albany. I’ll be back sometime before then to start prepping for
the title defense.

-RB David Wilson, the Giants’ first-round pick,
is very, very quick. Da’Rel Scott is fast, as everyone saw last preseason, but
Wilson’s straight-ahead speed has to be pretty close. And he has what Scott
doesn’t – a great burst when he cuts to the outside and lightning quick moves. I
believe running backs coach Jerald Ingram calls that “shake”. He looks like a
guy who can make defenders miss and find holes to run through pretty quick.
We’ll know more when the pads are on, but the
early returns on the top pick are very good.

-I wouldn’t
rule out Ramses Barden for the No. 3 receiver job, though I hesitate to
say that because he’s become something of a legendary spring and summer player.
He had a strong couple of days of practices, which isn’t unusual. However, the
favorite has to be rookie Rueben Randle, the Giants’ second-rounder. He had some
drops early in OTAs, but I don’t recall seeing any during this camp and he
looked good turning upfield after catches over the middle. Barden can catch, but
the knock on him (OK, one of the knocks) has been his lack of a burst and
inability to separate from defenders. That doesn’t seem to be a problem for
Randle. What about Jerrel Jernigan, you ask? Hard to see him winning this job
outright, mostly due to his size. He could be a useful situational slot
receiver, though.

-The Giants screwed up by losing Jake Ballard
to the Patriots, no doubt. The fact is they had a young player they
liked and they lost him for nothing, all because either Tom Coughlin or Jerry
Reese didn’t
want to “waste” a roster spot on him all summer when he wasn’t likely to
play in 2012. What I don’t get about that is rosters have expanded from 80 to
90, so even if they kept Ballard the Giants still would’ve had nine more players
in camp than they’ve had in previous years. Plus, they aren’t carrying a second
punter or kicker and only three quarterbacks, so they certainly had plenty of
room to “stash” him. … That said, this isn’t a big deal. Ballard isn’t Tony
Gonzalez. He was a very pleasant surprise last year and seems like a good
player, but he’s not very fast and wasn’t a great blocker. Add in that he wasn’t
going to play in 2012 and not everyone comes back from microfracture surgery and
is the same player, there’s no guarantee that he’d ever duplicate what he did
last year. Ballard was a nice player. If they could’ve kept him, that would’ve
been great. But it’s not a loss that figures to have any impact on the Giants
long-term.

-Alarm bells went off when the Giants re-signed DT
Rocky Bernard, because they sure seemed overloaded with players at that
position. Chris Canty and Linval Joseph are the entrenched starters and Marvin
Austin and Shaun Rogers seem to be the backups. Then again, Canty is recovering
from knee surgery and Joseph is recovering from ankle surgery and Rogers missed
all of spring with an elbow injury. Also, Rogers is listed at 350 but looks
much, much more. And then there’s Marvin Austin, the Giants’ second-round pick
in 2011 who hasn’t played a game since the end of the 2009 season. He missed
2010 because he was suspended for his senior season at North Carolina and then
2011 with a torn pec. And now, word is he’s overweight. Defensive coordinator
Perry Fewell didn’t say that in so many words, but …”It will be up to Marvin to
come back in peak condition,” Fewell said. “So these next five weeks he has off,
I assume he will really crank it up and get into better condition.” Told that
Austin looked a little big, Fewell said “You know what, he doesn’t look big
besides Shaun Rogers and Linval Joseph and Chris Canty and those guys. So hey,
I’ll go for it right now.”

--I’m a long way away from making my
prediction, but I’m astonished by the number of starters this team
returns. Really all they lost was RT Kareem McKenzie, TE Jake Ballard and CB
Aaron Ross. But they have last year’s No. 1 pick (Prince Amukamara) and the
previous starter (Terrell Thomas) competing to replace Ross, their top
free-agent target (Martellus Bennett) to replace Ballard, and even without
McKenzie they’ll still start five offensive linemen with starting experience. I
don’t know if the Giants will win the Super Bowl, but if they stay healthy I see
them getting off to a 2008-like start, where they built on the confidence of
their surprise Super Bowl run and began rolling. The Packers did the same thing
last year.

-Eli Manning looked off during the three-day
minicamp, proving that everyone was right about his No.
31 ranking on the NFL Network’s Top 100. It was obviously way too high. …
OK, I’m just kidding. Clearly there’s no reason to worry about Manning. I also
can’t get overheated about the NFL Network’s stupid list. The players voting on
it (whomever they are … I’ve yet to find any) are doing the same bang-up job
they used to do on the Pro Bowl. Absolutely, Manning should’ve been higher. A
little higher, anyway. I don’t know where I’d rank him, but I don’t think I
would’ve complained if he were anywhere in the Top 20. I also don’t have a major
issue with him being ranked behind Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. I’m
a little surprised he’s behind Ben Roethlisberger (30), but I can at least
understand the arguments for the other three. Bottom line, though, Eli Manning
is the reigning Super Bowl MVP, so who cares?

--One last word on
the NFL Network Top 100. I do have an issue with this: Jason
Pierre-Paul (24) being ranked ahead of Manning. Pierre-Paul is a beast and is
probably one of the Top 5-10 defensive players in the NFL. But Manning is the
best and most important player on the Giants. Period.

--I sensed
a little worry in Kevin Gilbride’s voice about injured WR Hakeem Nicks,
who has a broken foot and likely won’t be back until the middle of training camp
… the Giants hope. Maybe it’s nothing, or maybe it’s just a coach fretting over
depth. There is some potential depth at receiver, but not a lot of proven depth.
And as good as Victor Cruz was last season, no one knows how he’ll fare without
Hakeem Nicks or Mario Manningham to take away some of the attention of the
defense. If it’s Cruz and Randle or Barden lining up as the starting WRs on
opening night, the offense could look a lot different.

--Some of the young and relatively unknown players
that stood out to the coaches at minicamp included third-year safety
Stevie Brown, rookie receiver Brandon Collins (Texas and then Southeast
Louisiana), first-year safety Will Hill (Florida), rookie LB Jake Muasau
(Georgia State), and third-year tight end Ryan Purvis. A few others to keep an
eye on during training camp: Third-string QB Ryan Perrilloux, who has a cannon
for an arm and has looked very sharp; first-year WR Dan DePalma, who has drawn
raves from teammates and some team execs;second-year DE Justin Trattou, who is a
good bet to fill the Dave Tollefson role as the Giants’ fourth defensive
end.

*** And that’s that

This will be the final blog
entry of the 2012 offseason. As I said earlier, I’ll be back somewhere in
mid-to-late July to begin previewing the Giants’ training camp at the University
at Albany which begins when players report on July 26. (For
the full training camp schedule, click here).

And here’s another reason to follow @TheBlueScreen on Twitter:
Inspired by the NFL Network’s ridicu-list (otherwise known as their Top 100)
I’ll be unveiling my Top 10 Giants players. You can only view them on Twitter
over the next few weeks, so make sure you’re following. I may throw in another
Top 10 li"st or two, too.

In the mean time, have a safe and enjoyable
start to your summer. See you when the Super Bowl title defense begins again in
late July.

Excerpt: "Bill Belichick was
all choked up, and his voice cracked as he stood inside the Giants’ locker room
at old Giants Stadium filming a segment for a documentary about his coaching
life in 2009.

It was an emotional side of Belichick not seen very often (well, maybe he got
all misty-eyed when he was caught spying on other teams) and he stopped just
short of tears flowing down his cheeks as he took a trip down memory lane
talking about the 12 years he spent as a Giants assistant coach.

“This is a great organization,” Belichick said as he tried to keep his
composure. “It’s hard not to get choked up about it. I loved it here. I loved it
here.”

He talked about how he was just trying to establish himself in his coaching
career and be a good coach back then and “win some games. We won a lot of them
here.”

Seriously, it was a real tearjerker.

Then, after losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl again in February, he gave
Tom Coughlin such a long embrace that Coughlin was still talking about it months
later. Who knew such passion existed in the man?

Even so, you can always say one thing about Belichick: He doesn’t let emotion
and friendship get in the way of business. As a result, there is a new Border
War in town. The Giants, the team he cried for, vs. the Patriots, the team he
cheated for.

Belichick’s fondness for the Giants didn’t prevent him from really sticking
it to them last week when he claimed injured tight end Jake Ballard off
waivers when the Giants were trying to sneak him through. If the Giants were
successful, Ballard would have been placed on the Physically Unable To Perform
List.

The NFL is a cutthroat business, and nobody’s blood runs colder than
Belichick’s. He didn’t owe the Giants anything and didn’t extend them
professional courtesy by letting Ballard pass through.

As the Super Bowl runnerup, Belichick was 31st in the priority order on
waivers. Thirty other teams passed. The Giants’ risk almost paid off. Coughlin
was angry, but it was hard to say if he was mad at Belichick or mad at himself
or GM Jerry Reese or all three.

A couple of points:

- Giants motive: They clearly screwed up in order to save
one of 90 roster spots going into training camp. Ballard, who had major knee
surgery after getting hurt against the Patriots in the Super Bowl, failed his
Giants physical and is not expected to play until 2013. The Giants had two
choices: they could have placed him on PUP without waiving him, but that would
have meant carrying him on the active roster until the cut to 75 on the Monday
after the third preseason game. Or, if he cleared waivers as they hoped, he
would have gone on PUP, not count against the 90-man roster and also not been
eligible to play in 2012. The Giants took an unnecessary gamble to save a roster
spot and lost Ballard.

-Patriots motive: Belichick must have liked what he saw of
Ballard in the Giants’ 24-20 victory in Foxborough last year. On the Giants’
winning drive, he had an acrobatic 28-yard catch on third down with 45 seconds
left and caught the game-winning one-yard TD pass from Eli Manning with 15
seconds left. In the Super Bowl, he had two catches for 10 yards before he was
injured. But it still didn’t make much sense to claim Ballard because the
Patriots just signed Rob Gronkowski, the best tight end in the league, to a
six-year, $54 million extension. They also have Aaron Hernandez, who has two
years left on his contract and is a much better player than Ballard, and because
Ballard is not going to play this season. From a medical standpoint, Ballard
would have been better off staying with the Giants because their staff is
familiar with his injury and has been working with him.

Why did Belichick do it? Maybe he doesn’t love the Giants so much anymore
after they denied him two rings. Was he getting back at them? Somehow, claiming
Ballard doesn’t quite make up for two Super Bowl losses.

"Entering his eighth season with the Giants, Chase Blackburn never, ever has
readied himself for a training camp in the position he’s in now. His name
appears at the top of the defensive depth chart when it comes to listing the
pecking order at middle linebacker.

“This is my first time going in that way,’’ Blackburn said this week as the
mandatory mini-camp came to an end. “I like it, but at the same time I got to do
my best to keep it.’’

Blackburn, 29, has been around long enough to know his designation as a
starter in June is nice but, if not irrelevant, certainly tenuous. He never
would have carved out an improbable and enduring career for himself without
smarts, and he sees competition and potential replacements lurking around every
corner of the defensive landscape.
“Never assume nothing,’’ Blackburn said. “Obviously you bring guys in, there
are rookies, there’s guys that played last year, free agency we brought guys in.
There’s a whole bunch of things that go into it. It’s my position to lose, I
guess, but you never assume anything.’’

One of the guys the Giants brought in is Keith Rivers — who is everything
Blackburn is not when it comes to NFL pedigree. Rivers, 26, starred at USC and
was the ninth player selected in the 2008 Draft, the first linebacker off the
board, going to the Bengals. Blackburn wasn’t drafted at all in 2005 coming out
of Akron, which never has been known as the USC of the Midwest.

After four years filled with too many injuries and not enough big plays,
Rivers is looking to resurrect his NFL life with the Super Bowl champions. He
didn’t play at all in 2011 because of a fractured wrist. When the Giants traded
for him, all they had to give up was a fifth-round draft pick. Rivers’ scheduled
salary with the Bengals of $2.1 million was reduced to $1.25 million by the
Giants, and he is on what he calls a “play for pay’’ deal, needing to prove he
is worth keeping.

He said he believes he’s a keeper.

“I was the ninth pick in the draft.,” Rivers said. If he plays “anywhere near
that [potential], and it’s beyond a steal. It’s armed robbery.”

Rivers is much more of an outside linebacker than someone who will man the
middle, but if he ascends the way the Giants anticipate, it could affect
Blackburn’s role.

Another possibility is Mark Herzlich, entering his second season, eventually
could push Blackburn for a starting role.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that at this time a year ago, Blackburn was
unemployed, as the Giants didn’t think he was athletic enough to stick on the
roster as merely a special teams contributor. It wasn’t until November 30 when
the Giants, ravaged by injuries at linebacker, finally called and plucked
Blackburn off the couch and into the lineup, where he provided an immediate
injection of smarts and was a key fixture during the playoff run, even
intercepting Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLVI.

Can Blackburn recreate that magic and hang onto a job he never has before
owned heading into a season?

“I can’t say he’ll stay there permanently, but right now Chase is our guy and
no one’s clearly beaten him out for the position,’’ defensive coordinator Perry
Fewell said. “Chase has some distinct advantages over some of the other guys. I
said to the defense in our meeting, if I want to rewrite my playbook, I would
get Chase’s notes and rewrite our playbook. When I ask a question or when I talk
about a defense in there, he puts the addendums in. So he has been the best
extension of me so far because he probably knows as much about our defense and
how to make the calls and run our defense as any of those linebackers, with the
exception of Michael Boley, right now. That’s pretty good.

“I’d love for him to physically hang in there and [start]. No doubt about it.
He does add something to our unit, so I would love for him to do that. Can he do
that? I can’t say.’’

The answer will come in training camp and during the preseason, as Blackburn
attempts to make it exceedingly difficult to remove him from the starting
job.

“I hope it’s pretty hard,’’ he said. “I’m going to try my best to do
everything I can to stay there.’’

Less than 48 hours had passed since the Giants’ cornerback underwent knee
surgery, the frustrating and sudden nature of his situation was becoming a bit
overwhelming.

Poised for a breakthrough season last summer, presumably with a big contract
on the horizon for one of the NFL’s rising stars at his position, Thomas’ right
knee gave out.

He was poised to make the transition from good player to great, from
respected in his own locker room to being feared by the opposition.

Then with a sudden and cruel twist of fate, all of those expectations were
gone.

Just when Thomas was on the verge of losing it, though, his biggest fan –
daughter Tatum Aspen, now 2 – refused to let him.

"Two days after I tore my ACL, I was on my crutches in the kitchen and she
walks in and says, ‘Up!’ She didn’t care about nothing and she threw a tantrum
until I picked her up," Thomas recalled in an interview with The Record last
week. "She didn’t care about the crutches. She just wanted to be around her
daddy and it helped me get over [the injury] because I couldn’t let her see me
down.

"I was out for the season, but she’s the reason I wasn’t going to give up on
getting back."

The silver lining from being forced to the sideline and away from the team
and the game he loves was the perspective gained from time spent with the person
closest to his heart.

Thomas vowed to return and regain his starting job on the Giants’
defense.

He would do so with the appreciation of a father motivated to make his
daughter proud on and off the field.

"It’s a blessing and a responsibility more than anything. I hold her future
in my hands," said Thomas, who shares custody with Tatum’s mother. "The way I
mold her, the way I love her, the way I teach her is the way hopefully her
characteristics and traits will come out when she gets older."

Having been raised by a single mother, Thomas promises the lessons taught to
him growing up have shaped his ideals in parenthood.

"I take the responsibility – I want to be everything for my daughter," said
Thomas, 27. "I want to teach her everything and always let her know that her
father loves her, and I guess that just stems from me not having a father around
in my life. I want to teach her about morals, discipline and structure, and just
giving her that foundation of how a man should treat you.

"If anything, it motivated me to be a better father whenever I had that
chance."

A collage featuring the words "My Angel" above nearly two dozen photos of
Tatum hangs in Thomas’ locker, another reminder of the emotional constant in his
journey back to Big Blue and the quest to recapture what has been lost.

The rehabilitation process has been grueling – soothed somewhat by the
healing powers of a toddler and her willingness to kiss the boo-boos away.

"It’s easy to say I just want to come back healthy, but why stop there. I’ve
been kicking my butt in the off-season to get my leg right and get back," said
Thomas, who led the Giants in tackles, interceptions and passes defended for two
consecutive seasons prior to his injury. "My goals haven’t changed. I want the
Pro Bowl and I’m going to push Corey [Webster] – Corey should have gone last
year – and we’ve been going back and forth.

"I got a Super Bowl ring because these guys made sure I got one. Now my focus
is to go earn another one and be out there with my teammates when we do."

Thomas expects to be on the field with no limitations when the Giants report
to training camp July 26 in Albany, N.Y.

He participated in offseason training activities and minicamp, but will not
fully push his surgically-repaired knee until then.

"He is in our plans," defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. "We have a
backup plan in case he is not ready, but he is heavily in our plans. And we’ll
have to wait until Albany to see which plan we go with. Like anything we do we
have a Plan A and Plan B.

"And he is in Plan A."

In five weeks, Tatum will again kiss Daddy’s knee and send him off to
work.

Being home in California until then is enough of a Father’s Day present for
Thomas, although he also wouldn’t mind something crafted by Tatum herself.

"Maybe I’ll get a gift that she made for me in school, a drawing or
something," Thomas said with a smile. "I can’t wait to be back on the field and
helping our team go after another Super Bowl and building that dynasty [Justin]
Tuck and some other guys have talked about.

"But right now I’m really looking forward to spending time with my daughter
and making her the center of attention."

"Although safety Deon Grant was a starter for the New York Giants in last
year's Super
Bowl, General Manager Jerry
Reese has so far decided not to bring back the 13 year veteran out of Tennessee
for the upcoming season. Grant was a veteran leader on the field; and even took
on the role as defensive signal caller while Michael Boley was injured last
season. However, father time takes his toll on everyone, and DeonGrant is no
exception.

With Grant most likely out of the picture, many have speculated that we have
seen the last of Defensive Coordinator Perry
Fewell'sinnovative three safety packages. However, Fewell disputes this
notion. He recently stated the following:

"We are just going to wait and see," Fewell said. "Obviously, we like that
particular package, and we don't want to lose that package. We think that is
valuable for us. But with the additions of these linebackers that we have, we
can be a little bit more creative, we think. And so we just have to find out who
goes where, who can learn the best, and then we will take it from
there."

Last season, the three safety package was used mainly because of a rash of
injuries in the secondary. With no true nickel corner, the team had no choice
but to put Antrel
Rollein man coverage against slot receivers. This necessitated having
another free safety to put on the field and take on Rolle's traditional pass
coverage responsibilities. DeonGrant was more than serviceablein filling that
need.

This season, however, there is considerable depth in the secondary.
Cornerback's Prince
Amukamara, Jayron
Hosley, Justin Tryon, and Antwuan Molden are all competing for roster spots;
and it is more than likely that one of them will be used as a nickel cornerback.
We could even see one of them moved to safety. Furthermore, do not be surprised
to see second year player Tyler
Sash take a step forward this season.

Needless to say, Perry
Fewell will have a lot of options in the defensive backfield throughout the
2012 campaign. The influx of healthy defensive backs, as well as having a more
experienced and athletic linebacker core will enable him to be extremely
creative in utilizing personnel. While it is hard to see how Big Blue would
still use the three safety look, it has been effective in the past. Therefore,
look for Perry
Fewell to find creative ways to utilize three safeties at the same time on
the defensive side of the ball this season; however, do not expect to see it
used in the same fashion as it was in 2011."

“He reminds me of [Tomlinson] when I first came into the league a little bit,
just the speed and like the vision and stuff,” Blackburn said.

The significance of that compliment wasn't lost on Wilson, who doesn't seem
to mind the pressure that's being put on him.

“Hope I have the same career — or better,” Wilson said. "I’m competitive, so
I’m gonna get after it. You always gotta try to be the best, that’s how I figure
it.”

Considering Wilson hasn't taken so much as a single training camp snap,
expectations should probably be tempered. After all, everyone remembers the last
time the Giants drafted a running back in the first round who had similarly high
expectations. To say that didn't work out would be a bit of an
understatement.

Still, Wilson has all the tools, athletic ability and instincts to be a
tremendous football
player in the NFL. If he can
stay healthy, familiarize himself with the system and not float away as a result
of all of these comparisons and compliments, he stands a good chance of making
an immediate impact … which is something he fully expects of himself.

"With the NFL offseason
comes some angst, some withdrawals and the ever-strong frustration that’s born
mostly from complete lack of understanding.

The focused-upon aspect of the business side of New York
Giants football is
just about in the past months: Free Agency, the NFL Draft, and Team/Player negotiations that lead to a
contract or a departure. It’s not what the fans thought (from the comfort of
their favorite chair) should transpire, but eventually they grow to see the hows
and whys – even if it takes actually seeing how things play out for them to have
clarity.

We’re in an odd part of the offseason where the players and coaches focus on
getting back to game day shape, acclimating with all things football
and preparing for that common goal that is the basis for the game itself. The
general managers, however, are still shifting, buying and building. A large part
of the “shifting” includes using National Football League Waivers: a system by which a team makes a
player contract or NFL rights
available to all other teams.

Taking a deeper look into waivers – all 32 teams utilize them as they own the
right to release a certain player without actually, say, cutting him. Once a
team cuts a player, they cut every tie and said player is immediately a free
agent to the rest of the league. With waivers, players who do not have a
recognized minimum amount of experience (four years) playing in the league
aren’t “cut”, but instead placed on the league's “waiver wire”. This waiver wire
allows the other 31 NFL teams to
claim (or waive) the right to the released player and to then secure him.
Players with more than four years/ experience are considered “vested” and
non-eligible.

Bear in mind here that these waived players must clear the NFL waiver wire
before becoming a free agent. Once a player is placed on waivers, the other 31
teams have a 10-day period to place that claim on him. The team with the highest
slot in the waiver order is then granted that player. If no team makes an
assertion, that player then becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with
any team. The teams’ waiver order is determined by the previous season's final
standings – exactly like the NFL Draft (without the trade ability). Multiple teams can
stake an interest in a waived player, but the higher-ranked team on the wire
will get their man. Teams have ten days to do so – up until the start of July
through December (considered in-season). Then, that time frame changes to just
one day – 24 hours.

Here are some important side notes:

[*]If a player is claimed and then released from his new team, he must re-enter
the waiver wire and pretty much begin the process all over again.[*]Players with four or more seasons of league experience immediately become
free agents if released from a team (the non-eligible part).[*]A player who is on an NFL team's 53-man game roster, injured reserve list (IR)
or physically unable to perform list (PUP) for at least six regular-season games
qualifies for a season's worth of league experience. Interesting one.[*]Players with more than four years’ experience are considered vested veterans
– even midway through the season, and are not subject to the waiver process at
that time (see: non-eligible). It’s just a “cut” at that point.[*]Waiver claims are permanent.[*]NFL teams are
prohibited from contacting waived players until the player has been released by
their team and after passing waivers.[/list]

Many teams utilize waivers to get players onto Injured Reserve without having
to waste a valuable roster spot at critical times. What recent events have shown
is that there is a degree of risk in doing so with young, talented players.
Teams are basically showing their hand, so to speak, and hoping no one has
better cards (or a spiteful plan).

Comment

[quote user="NY_Eli"]Thanks RF. Always good to see vets singing praises of rookies, bodes well for Wilson's career.[/quote]

I think that's part of the ALL-IN mentality. I remember last season, when it was far from clear if we'd make the playoffs, Rolle giving an interview where he acknowledged the All-IN philosophy finally made sense to him when Fewell challenged the younger players to think about the veterans who may never get another chance at the brass ring. According to Rolle, that's when he realized what they were playing for.

“Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” MB Rule # 1

Comment

[quote user="RoanokeFan"][quote user="NY_Eli"]Thanks RF. Always good to see vets singing praises of rookies, bodes well for Wilson's career.[/quote]

I think that's part of the ALL-IN mentality.* I remember last season, when it was far from clear if we'd make the playoffs, Rolle giving an interview where he acknowledged the All-IN philosophy finally made sense to him when Fewell challenged the younger players to think about the veterans who may never get another chance at the brass ring.* According to Rolle, that's when he realized what they were playing for.
[/quote]

Comment

hey Ro.....whats happening?? Thanks for your continued efforts with the Giants stuff.

below is a quote from Fewell in the article yuo posted:

“Chase has some distinct advantages over some of the other guys. I said to the defense in our meeting, if I want to rewrite my playbook, I would get Chase’s notes and rewrite our playbook. When I ask a question or when I talk about a defense in there, he puts the addendums in. So he has been the best extension of me so far because he probably knows as much about our defense and how to make the calls and run our defense as any of those linebackers, with the exception of Michael Boley, right now. That’s pretty good.

That says a whole lot right there. I smell a coach in the making here. I like Chase and there needs to be a roster spot for him on this team. The experience and knowledge he brings alone is enough of a factor.

"Measure Twice......Cut Once"You couldn't be more full of **** if you were break dancing in a Port-a-Potty.......Kruunch

Comment

hey Ro.....whats happening?? Thanks for your continued efforts with the Giants stuff.

below is a quote from Fewell in the article yuo posted:

“Chase has some distinct advantages over some of the other guys. I said to the defense in our meeting, if I want to rewrite my playbook, I would get Chase’s notes and rewrite our playbook. When I ask a question or when I talk about a defense in there, he puts the addendums in. So he has been the best extension of me so far because he probably knows as much about our defense and how to make the calls and run our defense as any of those linebackers, with the exception of Michael Boley, right now. That’s pretty good.

That says a whole lot right there. I smell a coach in the making here. I like Chase and there needs to be a roster spot for him on this team. The experience and knowledge he brings alone is enough of a factor. [/quote]

That is quite the accolade. It's part of the philosophy of player development and why they hang on to some players beyond what may see as their "shelf life." No one can question Blackburn's commitment to this team.

“Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” MB Rule # 1

Comment

hey Ro.....whats happening?? Thanks for your continued efforts with the Giants stuff.

below is a quote from Fewell in the article yuo posted:

“Chase has some distinct advantages over some of the other guys. I said to the defense in our meeting, if I want to rewrite my playbook, I would get Chase’s notes and rewrite our playbook. When I ask a question or when I talk about a defense in there, he puts the addendums in. So he has been the best extension of me so far because he probably knows as much about our defense and how to make the calls and run our defense as any of those linebackers, with the exception of Michael Boley, right now. That’s pretty good.

That says a whole lot right there. I smell a coach in the making here. I like Chase and there needs to be a roster spot for him on this team. The experience and knowledge he brings alone is enough of a factor. [/quote]

That is quite the accolade.* It's part of the philosophy of player development and why they hang on to some players beyond what may see as their "shelf life."** No one can question Blackburn's commitment to this team.
[/quote]